Umbrella or parasol



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. ELE. MALLORY. UMBRELLA ORPARASOL.

MNo. 568,093. Paten'tedept'. 22', 18.96.,

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j 2 Sheets-sheet :24. E. 13.1 MA'LLORY. 1 UMBRBLLA 0R PARASOL.

(No Model.)

Patented Sept. 22, l1896.

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gunmen.

"Armar ERNEST E. MALEORY, 0F WEST UNITY, OHIO.

UMBRELLA OR PARASOL.

SPEGIFICATIONformVng part of Letters Patent No. 568,098, dated September 22, 1896. Application led June 16, 1896. Serial No. 595.785. (No model.)

.To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, ERNEST MALLORY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Test Unity, in the county of Villiams and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Umbrellas or Parasols 3 and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in folding umbrellas, in which I construct the ribs, stretchers, and staif in a way to fold oompactly together and in a space less than half the compass of uordinary umbrellas for the purpose of carrying the new umbrella in a satchel, basket, knapsack, or on a bicycle or any other place desired.

With these ends in view my invention consists of the combination, in a folding umbrella, of a sectional extensible staff having a crown-piece, ribs pivoted to said crown-piece and each made in sections, of which the outer sections are hinged to the inner sections by joints which adapt said outer sections to fold outwardly and upwardly on the inner rib-sections, a runner, sectional stretcliers connected to the ribs and the runner and each stretcher having its lengths connected by an upwardlyopening joint, and means for locking the series of jointed stretchers in their opened positions.

My invention further consists in the provision of an elongated sleeve or thimble acting inconjunction with the usual runner and the sectional stretchers, so as to lock the latter rigidly in their opened positions; also in a novel form of block-hinge joint between the members of the folding stretehers, which joint limits the opening movement of the stretcher-sections and insures prompt folding of the sectional stretchers when the locking'- thimble is raised; also in a peculiar construction of the jointed sectional ribs whereby the ribs when opened are held in proper position for service; and the invention finally consists in the novel combination of devices and in the construction and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to understand my invention, I have illustrated the preferred e1nbodiment thereof in the accompanying drawings7 forming a part of this specification, and in which` Figure l is a view of my umbrella or parasol in its folded condition. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation through the umbrella when opened. Fig. 3 is a detail enlarged view of one of t-he ribs and its associated stretcher, the full lines representing the rib when opened-for use and the dotted lines showing the rib when folded. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail sectional view through the inner ends of the stretchers, the runner, and the slidable loeking-thimble Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view ,on the plane indicated by the dotted line 5 5 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective View of one of the stretchers. Figs. 7 and S are detail views of different types of the extensible staff or rod.

Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the iigures of the drawings.

A designates the staff or rod; B, the ribs, which are pivoted, in the usual or any preferred way, to the crown-piece l) C, the sectional stretchers; D, the ordinary runner' to which the inner ends of the stretchers are pivoted, and Eis the slidable locking-sleeve. The statt A is made in lengths or sections to enable it to be shortened or lengthened as required. The construction of this staff may varywithin the skill of the constructor, but in Figs. 2, 7, and SI have shown three several ways in which this staff may be made. In Figs. l and 2 the staff is shown as consisting of the telescopic sections o a2 a2, which are adapted to be drawn out and to frictionally engage with each other, the upper section Ct being so attached to or connectedA with the ribs and stretchers as to form an integral or permanent fixture of the umbrella, while the section ce2 constitutes the butt-end or handle of the statt'. The staff may, however, consist of detachable lengths or members o4, (see Fig. 7,) which are coupled together by interlocking screwand-socket joints, to render the staff separable in order that it may be shortened within the required limit when the umbrellais collapsed and folded into a small compass, but such separable construction of IOO the staff may not be satisfactory because it takes time to adjust and couple or uncouple the sections. Ihave illustrated my preferred construction of the staff in Fig. t. The staff is made of telescopic sections, in each of which there is provided a longitudinal groove d5, having a lateral offset a, the metal being preferably struck up to produce a rib or key a7. These telescopic members of the staff are adjusted to have the key or rib a2 of the section enter the groove and offset of an adjacent section, and the sections are thus connected in a way to guide them in their endwise movements when they are extended or collapsed and to lock the sections together when they are extended by turning the sections axially and causing the keys or ribs a7 to enter the offsets a6 of the grooves.

The crown-piece b is rigidly fastened to the permanent member a of the staff, and toit are provided the inner ends of the ribs B. Each rib consists of two members or sections B' B2, which are connected together by an upwardly and outwardly opening (or downwardly and inwardly closing) joint or hinge b', whereby the outer members or sections B2 of the ribs are adapted to fold upwardly and against the outside of the umbrella. In the drawings I have illustrated as one embodiment of my invention a peculiar form of lapjoint. The outer end of the inner section B' of each rib is pivoted to the inn'er end of the outer section B2 at a point in rear of the said inner end of the outer section, as at h2, thus leaving the inner end b3 of the outer section free, whereby the free inner end h2 of the outer section is arranged to lap or extend across the end of the inner section B of the rib and to bear or press against the same when the rib is unfolded to bring the sect-ions B B2 into alinement with each other. The section B2 is thus connected to the section B to fold upwardly and outwardly, and the outer sections B2 of all the ribs are made to fold against the outside of the umbrella, so that the latter will fold upon itself and within half the compass usually taken up by the ordinary collapsible umbrella.

The fabric covering F is fastened to or around the crown b in the usual way, but the cover is fastened to the rib-sections B B2 by elastic loops f, which serve to draw the cover taut and close to the ribs when the umbrella is opened or folded.

The stretchers C are attached to the ribs and runner in apeculiarway. Each stretcher consists of two members or sections C C2, which are joined together by an upwardlyopening hinge c, and the inner section O is tted in deep notches or slots d, produced in the runner D, to which runner all the inner sections C of. the series of braces are pivotally connected by the usual wire ring d. The outer sections C2 of all the braces have the forked or yoke-shaped ends c2, and these forks or yokes c2 are pivotally attached to the outer sections B2 of the ribs at points in rear of the joint h2 between the rib-sections B B2, the joints between the stretcher-sections C2 and the rib-sections B2 being indicated by the reference-letters c2. The arrangement of the ribs and stretchers and the pivotal connection of the parts is such that when the ribs and stretchers are unfolded the pressure of the stretchers against the ribs will serve to hold the outer members B2 of the ribs in alinement with the inner rib-sections in order to prevent the ribs from folding or collapsing of their own volition; but in order to prevent the sectional stretchers from collapsing or folding upward when exerting the described pressure on the ribs I have provided a locking device adapted to engage with all of the stretchers, and which serves to positively restrain them from folding under the described conditions.

The locking device consists of the elongated sleeve E, which is fitted externally on the permanent section a of the staff and is fitted within the ordinary runner D to which the stretchers are joined. This locking-sleeve is longer than the runner D, so that it passes entirely through the runner, and said sleeve has a inger-ilange c at its lower end and the conical head e' at its upper end. The conical head c/ of the sleeve lies above the runner at all times, and the conicity of the lower face of the head is such that it bears or presses upon the inner members C of all the stretchers in order to keep the stretchers from breaking joints and folding upwardly. The locking-sleeve is held in the desired position on the staff by the ordinary springcatch e2, which iits against the lower closed end of the longitudinal slot e2, provided in the lockingsleeve.

The runner is held in place, when the umbrella is opened, by a catch d2, which is fitted in a suitable kerf in the staff-section a and is adapted to project through the longitudinal slot e4 in the sleeve E, so as to engage with the runner D in the usual way, as shown by Fig. 4L of the drawings.

I prefer to construct the joints or hinges between the members C C2 of each stretcher in a manner to prevent the members from unfolding into alinement with eachother, so that the stretcher-sections will readily and quickly fold upward when the locking-sleeve is moved upon the staff. To this end I provide the stop-plate G, one end of which is attached to one section, C2, of the stretcher and the other end of said plate terminates in an angular lip or ange g, that is adapted to it between the adjacent ends of the sections C C2, as shown.

The operation of my umbrella is as follows: To open the umbrella when it is folded compactly, the staff is extended or drawn out, the rib-sections B2 and cover are turned down to bring the sections B2 in alinement with the rib-sections B', the runner D is moved upward, and the sleeve -E is drawn downward, thus straightening the stretchers and open- IOO IIO

ing out the ribs, the runner and sleeve being engaged by the catches to hold the parts in rigid or locked relations to each other. To close the umbrella, it is only necessary to release the sleeve and runner from their fastenings and slide said parts upwardly on the staff, thus allowing the stretchers and ribs to fold inwardly toward the staff. It is not necessary to fold the umbrella within its most compact dimensions at all times, because the ribs and stretchers may fold against the sta substantially like ordinary umbrellas; but

when it is desired to pack the umbrella in a' satchel or the like the staff is shortened, the runner and sleeve are forced on the staff nearly or quite up to the crown, and the outer rib-sections B2 and cover turned up outside of the inner rib-sections B', thus folding the parts in a small compass.

I am aware that changes in the form and proportion of parts and in the details of construction of the parts herein shown and'described as the preferred embodiment of `my invention may be made byaskilled mechanic without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of my invention, and I therefore reserve the right to make such modifications as fairly fall within the scope i of my invention. As, for example, I may provide elastic loops fastened to each end of the outer rib and adapted to be used when the umbrella is folded short by adjusting or placing the loops around the umbrella, similar to the use of loops or bands on pocket-books.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In a foldable umbrella, the combination with a staff, and a runner, of the ribs each made in sections which are joined to overlap .when unfolded and arranged to have the outer sections fold upwardly and outwardly, the sectional stretchers connected to the runner and to the sectional ribs so as to press againstthe latter and hold them distended,

and a locking device arranged to press downwardly upon the inner sections of the stretchers, as and for the purposes described.

2. In a foldable umbrella, the combination with astaff anda runner, of the jointed ribs, the sectional stretchers jointed to fold upwardly and each stretcher having its members attached, respectively to the runner and one of the ribs, and a slidable sleeve arranged to en gage with the sectional stretchers, as and for the purposes described.

3. In a foldable umbrella, the combination with a staff, a runner, and ribs, of the sec tional stretchers jointed to fold upwardly, a slidable sleeve having a conical head to press against the stretchers, and a suitable detent for said sleeve, as and for the purposes described.

4. In a foldable umbrella, the combination withasta, arunner, and ribs, of the stretchers each jointed at an intermediate point of its length and having means which prevent the sections or members from opening `into alinement, a slidable headed sleeve arranged to engage with the stretchers, and a detent for said sleeve, as and for the purposes described.

5. The combination with a staff and a runner, of the ribs each jointed at a point intermediate of its length and having said jcint so arranged that the adjacent ends of the rib-sections will overlap when the ribs are unfolded, the sectional stretchers having their outer ends pivoted t'o the ribs to press the joints outward] y and keep the ribs straightened out, and a locking mechanism adapted to engage with the stretchers to prevent them from collapsing, as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ERNEST E. MALLORY.

Witnesses:

EDWARD GAUDERN, M. M. BooTHMAN. 

